Warning, You May Shed A Tear

I'm In Love...With A Carpet Sweeper

It's not unusual for us to sweep our laminate floors three or four times a day.  Our carpets, on the other hand, get severely neglected.  Once a week downstairs, even less often upstairs.  If you think that's gross, wait till you hear this:  Blake was eating pecans in our bedroom on Tuesday.  He stuffed his mouth, chewed them up, then spit little bits all over the floor.  On Friday morning, they were still there.  I know, it's disgusting, but I have a good reason.  We're rarely upstairs during the day.  When I do go upstairs at night, the kids are sleeping in their bedroom right below us.  I'd rather repeatedly step on chewed up pecan pieces than risk waking the kids at night.  At risk of having CPS show up to remove my kids from this filthy house, I went out and bought a carpet sweeper.  'Cause I kind of like my kids, you know?

I purchased a Casabella sweeper at Bed, Bath and Beyond since I was there to pick up something else.  I didn't do any research in advance, which is very unusual for me.  However, I've checked the reviews when I got home, and the general consensus is that this is a good product.  I've owned mine for all of 5 hours, and I'm impressed.  It easily picks up the crumbs and fuzzies from the area rug.  And the pecan pieces?  I'm proud to say that they are gone.  No batteries, no power cord, very minimal noise.  This obviously won't replace a vacuum, but I think it'll be great for day to day clean up.  

I'm not sure if the one I bought is a really new model, or an old one, but I can't find it anywhere online.  Try this link for a similar item (mine was only $25), or just google carpet sweeper.  Bissell seems to make a good product, too.  

The best part: Hadley has named it "Choko" and is now hooked on housework!

The Best Chocolate Chip Cookies (Almost)

I know what you're thinking- you've heard that line before.  Every recipe claims to be "the best," and in my experience, they always fall short.  These were really good.  The best?  Hmm... I'd like to say I'll never try another cookie recipe again, but that would be silly.  New recipes = new reasons to gorge on cookies.  Taste testing, in the name of science, you know?  Anyway, if you like your cookies chewy and soft, try this recipe.

Thick and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

And remember, if you dunk them in milk, they become health food. 

Ice Cream In A Bag

It's getting warm outside, which means it's ice cream season.  It's always ice cream season.  Should you find your freezer bare, don't panic!  Gather up these ingredients and make your own!

Ice Cream in a Bag


Add these ingredients to a ziploc sandwich bag and seal tightly:
1/2 cup milk (or half and half- yum!)
1 TBSP sugar
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
(alternatives: cocoa powder or chocolate syrup, strawberry syrup or preserves, instant espresso)

Add three cups of crushed ice and 1/3 cup of kosher or rock salt to a gallon sized bag.  Put the smaller bag inside the larger bag, seal and then SHAKE IT for 5 minutes, or until the ice cream is firm.  Carefully wipe the smaller bag before opening so you don't get salty ice cream.
Enjoy!

It never tastes as good as real ice cream, but it will do in a pinch.  As an adult, I always get excited when milk turns into ice cream right before my eyes; I can't wait to see the kids' reaction when we do this together tomorrow!

My Succulent Obsession

One week ago, I decided that I wouldn't be planting any flowers this year.  Idaho is too hot and dry, and everything ends up dead by the end of June.  My plans changed when I happened upon the idea of succulent container gardening.  Succulents like full sun, are drought resistant, and do well in containers.  A week later, and my yard is full of plants like this one:

And these:

And these, too:

We'll see if they make it through the month, but I'm hopeful.  I normally love plants with big, bright flowers, but I think there is something beautiful and understated about these plants (some of which will bloom).   

                                                       

Did you notice that some of the plants look like artichokes?  Maybe they subconsciously inspired me to make stuffed artichokes for dinner last night.

These are delicious, easy and look fancy enough to serve to guests.  If you do a search, you'll find a lot of different recipes for stuffed artichokes.  I originally made these a few years ago from a recipe I found online.  I can't find it anymore, so I just wing it, and they always turn out great.  

Stuffed artichokes, an un-recipe

-Rinse artichokes, cut off the the stem and trim the sharp tips from the leaves.  

-Boil artichokes until the bottom is tender (insert a knife into the stem area to check).  Mine took 25 minutes.  I added a bit of lemon juice and salt to the pot, but according to many recipes, you should also add a bay leaf.  

- Make a mixture of bread crumbs, fresh tomatoes (chopped), garlic, salt, pepper, parmesan cheese and a drizzle of olive oil.  Sorry, I don't have any measurements.  Just eyeball it.   Oh, add some fresh basil, or if you realize that your basil has gone bad, use dried.  If you are out of dried basil, then dried parley does the trick.  And for pete's sake, add dried basil to the shopping list this time.

- Drain the artichokes and place in a baking dish.  Gently spread the leaves of the artichokes and spoon the filling mixture onto the leaves.  Drizzle with olive oil and cook at 400 degrees for 20-30 minutes or until the mixture is golden brown.  

Yum!

A Quote

My father used to play with my brother and me in the yard.  Mother would come out and say, "You're tearing up the grass."  "We're not raising grass," Dad would reply.  "We're raising boys".
                                                                                               -Harmon Killebrew

Chocolate Applesauce Bread

A few years ago, my grandma saw this recipe on a cooking segment during the morning news.  She told my mom about it, who then did some fancy googling and tracked it down.  I can't remember which station it was, and I can't find the original link.  So... I'll just attribute this to some lady from a MN news station, via my Grandma.  


I must have made this bread 50 times over the past few years.  I made it a few days ago, but I forgot to take pictures, and all that's left now are a few crumbs.  Sorry, I'm really failing y'all tonight. 


Ingredients:  Makes two large loaves
4 cups flour   ( I use 2 cups whole wheat, 2 cups all purpose)
4 tsp. baking soda
½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tsp cornstarch
2 cups granulated sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. cloves
1 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. salt
3½ cups unsweetened applesauce
½ cup vegetable oil
2 tsp. vanilla
2 cups raisins (optional)....that would be healthy, but I use two cups of semi-sweet chocolate chips instead...mmm...

Mix dry ingredients, add wet ingredients.  Pour into two loaf pans.  Bake at 325 degrees for one hour. 


This bread is moist and sweet, but not overly so, and somewhat healthy.  It is a great cake-like option for somebody with an egg allergy, or a vegan (if you choose the chocolate chips and sugar carefully).  I usually cut back on the sugar so it can serve as a semi decent snack option.  Last night, I dressed it up as dessert to serve to guests.  I cut small slices, warmed them slightly, then piled them high with strawberries and fresh whipped cream.  Delicious!  It freezes well, too.  Pre-slice it so you can easily grab a piece and microwave it for 20 seconds to defrost, or 40 seconds to get it nice and gooey.  


Enjoy! 

Nap Time Cooking

I love a recipe that can be prepped during naptime.  If I can cook while the kids sleep, then we can play while they are awake, and everybody is happier.  Sweet and Sour Chicken is easy, tasty and popular with the kids.  The hands on part of this recipe can be completed in less than 30 minutes- 15 minutes of cooking and 15 minutes to quadruple sanitize the kitchen.  Yes, I know that's crazy, but I have a fear of raw meat.  Carnophobia?  I'll put up with it if my kids will eat without a fight.  While this isn't the healthiest meal (lots of sugar), it does contain nutritious, whole ingredients like organic chicken, brown rice and broccoli.  Okay, enough talking.  Here comes the recipe, but get ready, things are about to get weird.  


Sweet and Sour Chicken
3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Salt and pepper
1 cup cornstarch
2 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup canola oil

Cut boneless chicken breasts into chunks. Season with salt and pepper. Dip chicken in cornstarch and then in egg. Fry in a little oil until brown but not cooked through. Place in a single layer in a 9x13 glass dish. Mix sauce ingredients (below) together and pour over chicken.

Sauce:
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup ketchup (Weird, right?  Don't say I didn't warn you.)
½ cup vinegar
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon garlic salt

Bake for one hour at 325 degrees. Turn chicken every 15 minutes.  After 30 minutes, add 1 can of pineapple with a bit of the juice if the sauce seems to be cooking down too much.  


I served this with Alton Brown's baked brown rice, which was delicious.  However, it calls for cooking the rice at 375 degrees for one hour, so here's what I did: 
 4:00-4:30 Cooked chicken in the oven at 325 
4:30 Moved chicken to crockpot, set on high.  Put rice in the oven at 375.  Cook each for one hour.  
5:30 Microwave some frozen organic broccoli and it's dinner time!


Trust me, your kids will want to eat this meal!

Before

During (I love Blake's chubby fingers :)

After

Bonus: Dinner is done early, now you can head downtown and enjoy the beautiful Boise weather.  However, your kids probably won't have any fun. 

What a grumpy girl!

Stop at the market and get a tomato plant.  Tell your kids the fun is over and it's time to go home.  Now tell them to please stop crying, kicking and screaming so they can carefully hold your plant.  You've gotta earn your keep, kiddos.

May Flowers

Who needs expensive bouquets when you have a shot glass full of hand picked flowers?  

Thanks Hadley!

Boise Sale Alert!

-The Sports Authority on Boise and Apple is closing.  Everything is 40% off and can be returned/exchanged at the Milwaukee store.  Tyler was in over the weekend and said there were still some good deals to be had.

-The Children's Store on Orchard is having a secret sale on Wednesday, May 11th from 1:00-6:00.  Everything is 20% off with this password: Mother may I?

Happy Shopping!

Super Stain Stick

Despite using natural laundry detergent for the past several years, we've continued to use the nasty, chemical based stain removers.  Why?  Because they work.  That's why I'm super excited to have found a natural stain remover that actually does what it's supposed to.  I ordered the Ecover stain remover from drugstore.com a couple of weeks ago, and so far I've been super impressed by it.  Just tonight, it removed marinara from Blake's white t-shirt.  A few days ago, Hadley's cream colored shirt got covered in greasy orange stains from roasted sweet potatoes.  We forgot to pre-treat, and the shirt was washed and dried with the stains remaining.  I dabbed on some stain stick, washed it again, and it came out like new!  I'm actually excited about laundry right now.  Too bad the kids are sleeping, otherwise I'd be going through their closet searching for old stains to try to remove.  I love a challenge!

Boise Restaurant Review: Tango's Empanadas

You can't beat good food, great prices and super friendly service.  Tango's Empanadas has all three things going for it.  I truly don't know if I've ever been met with such wonderful customer service.  I mean, when we left (long after closing, none the less) the owner didn't just tell us to have a nice day, he told use to have a beautiful day.   And he said it, sincerely, about 5 times.  The empanadas are delicious and cheap.  They are fried, but don't feel heavy or greasy.  Our favorites are the cuzco, the fugazza and the cocco.  Tyler is also a fan of the caramba sub.

-If empanadas aren't your thing, then maybe you should head to Goody's instead.  On Mother's Day, moms get a free sundae.  While you are there, try the lemon ice cream (one scoop, sugar cone).  There are very few times in life when I'd choose fruit over chocolate, and this is one of them. 

I LOVE This!

"I'm not chasing youthfullness. I'm chasing health."

I love this story of a 91 year old who began bodybuilding at the age of 85.

And, when talking about amazing senior athletes, you can't forget about Jack.

Although this video is somewhat comical to watch now, he was way ahead of his time with his theories on exercise and healthy eating.

Take home message: if they can push their bodies to new limits at 90, than I can do the same at 29.  Yes, Tyler, I'll run a half marathon with you.  Sign me up before I change my mind.

No Animals Were Harmed In The Making Of This Blog Post

Here's a meal for all the vegans in the house.  Can I get a woop-woop!?!  Okay, so the salad dressing contains honey, which is technically not vegan, but some would argue that.  What's important is that everything tastes awesome.  

image via 101 cookbooks

Here's the menu:

  Orange glazed tempeh

   This was awesome.  Like, really, truly, freaking delicious.  Yes, I understand that the phrases "fermented soy product" and "freaking delicious" don't normally mesh, but this is an exception.  I left out the cliantro and lime juice because it didn't seem right.  We try to avoid too much soy, but I think it's okay now and then, and that organic tempeh is one of the healthier forms of soy.  Also, we served ours over wheatberries, but without the kale.  I had kale, but it smelled funny.  Does kale always smell funny?  I couldn't remember ever smelling it before, so I tossed it just to be safe.  It was a few days old anyway.  

Broccolini

   No recipe here.  I just steamed it to make things easy.  Which means that naturally, I forgot about it and it was severely overcooked.  Oh well, the kids still loved it.  Oh, and the broccolini was my substitute for the stinky kale.  And you know what?  The broccolini was stinky, too.  And it was fresh.  Then I remembered that the co-op produce bags are stinky.  If only I hadn't tossed the kale.  I almost pulled it out of the garbage.  Almost.

Jenny's Lunch Line salad

  Tyler recently confessed that he's been making daily trips to Jenny's for the house salad.  I asked him what was so special about a house salad.  The answer: greens, apples, raisins and shallot vinaigrette.  I figured, I can recreate that.  A google search for shallot vinaigrette will bring you about a thousand different recipe options, so I blindly chose this one.   Tyler proclaimed it a hit.  

Yum!  It was all so good and it felt like a really "clean" meal.  And you can eat dinner knowing that know animals were harmed in the making of your meal.  Not even the bees.  They want you to eat their honey.  Trust me.